Homes Sales Down -- WHY ??

According to a report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the number of homes sold plummeted more than 25%, compared with the previous quarter. The national median price for a single-family home sold during the quarter was $177,900, down 0.2% from the same period a year ago and up 0.6% from the second quarter of 2010. Single-family home prices rose 2.5% to $253,400 in the Northeast, the only region that showed price improvement. Midwest prices fell 3% to $145,600, prices dropped 1.9% in the South and 0.4% in the West region. The metro area with the biggest gain was Burlington, Vt., where the median price of $286,300 was 17.6% higher than 12 months earlier. The biggest loserwas Ocala, Fla., down 20% to $82,200. San Jose, Calif., recorded the highest median price -- $628,700 -- during the quarter, just nosing out Honolulu at $628,100. Youngstown, Ohio, the old steel town, had the lowest median sale price, at $60,400. Condo prices fared worse than those of single-family houses. The national median fell 3.9% from 12 months earlier to $171,400. Palm Bay, Fla., had the biggest year-over-year loss: down 32% to $73,000; Jacksonville. Fla., was off 31% to $63,200. Phoenix condo prices also plunged, down 26.6% to $73,300. Condo prices in the New York metro area soared, up 34.5% to $400,000, the most, by far, of any city.